This is probably the most challenging and rewarding season of healing. Perhaps as we look through the autumnal lens we can see the way the trees simply release their leaves when the time is right. Their innate wisdom guides this process of letting go in the same way that our own wisdom encourages us to release that which no longer serves us.
Letting go of the life we had is tough. We may lose friends, financial security and any sense of the future. Nobody would say it was easy. However, tackle things in bite sized pieces.
One of the reasons we struggle, particularly when we perceive deep loss and personal grief, is that we are aligned with our conditioned ego self. That self identifies with the work persona, the party persona, the high achiever, the perfectionist , the good parent, the athlete and more. That ego self grieves the loss of expectations of what we believed would make us happy.
In reality many people are rewiring to move away from those lives that caused The Perfect Storm. Yes it's hard to let go of that familiar, conditioned
persona, and yet what treasure might the True Self be offering?
Because the season of Letting Go has such intense emotional impact, this is the time to focus on somatics. Movement helps to process the natural grief of this stage.
Working with a somatics program or a professional is ideal. However if you do it on your own :
☆ be like the leaf falling gently from the tree, be kind to yourself
☆ feel the wind and do some shaking out as you prepare to let go
☆ maybe let the wind dance you from your branch, playfully
☆ lying down stretch towards the other leaves, first one way and then the other.
Notice how you respond to the different movement. Observe the emotional connections. Do any of these activities feel more freeing in your body?
Journalling your feelings of loss and any insights can help along the past. Try filling the " leaves" of your journal with drawings and feelings and thoughts about Letting Go. These leaves, like the leaves from the tree, become the compost for your future self. And can you be like the tree, bending with the winds of change while staying strongly rooted in the ground of your being.
EFT can be a useful tool in this season, as well as yoga nidra, breathwork and vagus nerve stimulation. Experiment and see what works best for you.
The season of Letting Go lasts as long as needed and might return at any time. You can do this and acceptance around Letting Go is a necessary step towards the next season. Trust the process and your own beautiful innate wisdom. All will be well.
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This is is the first post in my blog series called Seasons of Healing. If you are reading this in November you can access my other blogs in the series from this link
Elaine is a brain retrainer, a life long lover of learning, a free spirit, an artist and is committed to her own healing as well as supporting others on the path.
Her life's purpose is to encourage others to find the freedom of the True Self and her journey holds the riches of intense training in Buddhism, coaching, alternative therapies and Jungian psychology.
She has lived in different parts of Africa and southern Spain and has now settled in the hills of rural south west England.
So beautiful to appreciate this season of “falling leaves” and our journeys through the lens of your words, Elaine. Letting go to create anew. Thank you for your eloquence.
Beautifully eloquent, Elaine! You help me feel rooted and grounded in this season of letting go.
Love this! Wisdom and grace, indeed.
How beautiful Elaine! A reminder not to hold on to what’s been gone already. I personally love autumn and walking through the colorful forest. Really nice somatics suggestions!
Beautifully written article Elaine! imagine if the trees had such fear of losing their leaves every year? What a mess they would be! They understand that nature and the body has cycles and as long as they are rooted they can let go,,, and bring in shiny new green leaves next spring. This is a lovely reminder to just be. Thanks